Opus Romano

[bluebhuoy]

I have been asked to tile a hall 5mt x 4mt in an Opus Romano pattern, there are three different sized tiles, any idea where to start

[GazTech]

Welcome to the forums blu,
If you have a pattern layout, draw it out onto paper at scale 1:20.
Take a piece of tracing paper and draw your hallway to the same scale. Place the hallway plan over the top of the tile grid paper and position it so it looks best, take your starting point from there.....Gaz

don't know if this is your pattern, but it will be similar

[wetdec]

which 3 sizes do you have


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[Branty]

I thought this was opus romano. 4 different tiles, in a 12 tile pattern.

[Branty]

After searching the net, it seems opus romano is a generic term for any multi tile pattern

[wetdec]

After searching the net, it seems opus romano is a generic term for any multi tile pattern

You are right however the original Opus Romano standard was 4 sizes, 60x40, 40x40, 40x20, 20x20 anything else is really a 3 size pattern ( a real one cant be seen to repeat)

Limestone is being sold with a larger 60x60 init but its not seen often and usually antiqued.

Anything with a 30 x30 init is made up for customer pleaseing and usually involves slate.






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[sibs]

looks easy enough

[tubs]

Got some photos of a kitchen/utiltity floor I did a few months back, got the pics on photobucket but have tried and cant seem to post them !!

[Dave]

I actually thought a 4 tile was a french pattern.......

[wetdec]

French pattern is just a name some distributors have given it Opus Romano means Roman Composition or Roman design which is the actual layout if you like.

Thers no travertine in france lol

[Dave]

No probs..just my tile pattern sheets have it down as a french pattern.....but whatever it is a nice patterned effect when done...i have this pattern on my floor ( kitch)..

[GazTech]

You are right however the original Opus Romano standard was 4 sizes, 60x40, 40x40, 40x20, 20x20 anything else is really a 3 size pattern ( a real one cant be seen to repeat)

Limestone is being sold with a larger 60x60 init but its not seen often and usually antiqued.

Anything with a 30 x30 init is made up for customer pleaseing and usually involves slate.






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I also thought that opus was those sizes.....the Romana tile co supplied Topps with opus romana chiselled edged travertine in those very sizes.....Gaz

[Branty]

So is my floor a opus romano?

[whitebeam]

No, It's tiled

[brian c]

not bad for this time of night whitebeam

[BDS]

[Alberta Stone]

This floor is a Peruvian limestone/travertine and it looks like the opus pattern.
It didn't have a name for it on the boxes.

[wetdec]

This floor is a Peruvian limestone/travertine and it looks like the opus pattern.
It didn't have a name for it on the boxes.

Its not Peruvian limestone its Scabas Travertine.

See this is where the problem lies, Travertine is a limestone composition as it comes from lime solution bubbling up through hot springs and streams. When its in its full form then it is labelled travertine. The same can be said for marble its limestone, (some where it says the word marble means "to take a polish") which is what marble is limestone polished.

Its a bit like calling a car a tin........its made of tin......but is called a car.


The biggest reason for the problem....... The first 2 widely available travertines in the uk were called classico and colliseum, classico was the colour we see most often now and colliseum was blonde........they were both sold by 1 distributer...... as trav got more popular other distributers had to retain the mistique and maintain prices so you got names like ligurian limestone, bizantine, peruvian limestone........now you understand can you see it......


A lot of you guys ignore my question about what the name of or what a stone looks like when you ask advice..........its important as you dont treat a limestone like you treat a travertine................anyone that doesnt ask is guessing,,,,,,,!!!!!!


.. tiler


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[BDS]

I agree with wetdec if i`m remotley unsure i`ll always ask,cos as GazTech will tell you i`ve just ripped up 60m2 of marble and replaced with travertine,cos the guys who put it down never sealed it and it was covered in stains/residue and crap i think the more you understand the tiles/products/methods the better you and your skills become and your name will be around your tiling communtity your customer who`s the important one will be over the moon and will recomend you all day long to anyone and everyone

[Alberta Stone]

I actually have a box of pieces of that particular floor which I found in the shop storage and it states:

Natural Travertine Marble- Rustic
Patio Pattern
Stones from Peru
Product description:
Natural tiles produced in Travertine marbles of extraordinary hardness, blended in selected colors and with the best rustic finish.
-install with white thinset
-may be assembled with or without grout spacing
-if desired the natural holes that show on the surface may be filled with the thinset mortar or grout
-tiles may be used for floors and walls, interior or exterior

So I was wrong about it being limestone, it is travertine and it is then mislabeled on the box .
I can attest to its hardness as I cut the pieces and it was much harder than the epoxy filled and polished travertine which I put on the wall in the same pic.
I only posted the pic as it was something which was in the same pattern, but a different stone and I thought it would add some more substance to this thread.

travertine:
Formed from millions of years of sulfuric mineral springs percolating through Limestone deposits, Travertines offer earthy, old-world elegance and exude warmth and beauty in a variety of applications.
marble:
A metamorphic stone, Marbles are formed when the Earth’s pressure creates enough heat to fuse millions of years’ worth of calcified deposits into stone which is characterized by beautiful colors and dramatic veins.
limestone:
A sedimentary stone, Limestone has been used throughout the centuries as a popular building material. Limestones range in color from gray to buff with some pastel shades of pink and yellow, neutral shades that integrate perfectly with current color trends.

So marble, limestone and travertine are all in the same family, but have undergone different geological conditions which give them their variations.
Thus they need to be treated a bit differently.

[wetdec]

You got it m8..............

The reason its so hard............. its not common like the lights that everyone wants so they are still working the quallity blue/red veins which make up Scabas/Scabos

As a rule the unfilled trav is higher quality and better marked than the filled as it has to hold itself together. The filled stuff can be **** and when its filled the fillers hold it. You see this with commercial trav the holes can be really big on the back.

Honed Travertine quality can be based today on the actual quality of the fillers they have in them as some of it is really bad.

Peru has some very good travs and limestone, 2 of them have been in the fofront of the uk market for around 8 years but no one knows it. As a rule if it comes from Peru or Italy its good quality stuff as they are not hammered like the turkish markets. They are not common in the uk as the producers promote in Coverings in the USA and few uk distributors go there.

-if desired the natural holes that show on the surface may be filled with the thinset mortar or grout

This bit is interesting as fixers in the us who want an unfilled look seal the trav before they grout the lines in with a release sealer. When the grout is cleaned off and picked out it doesnt stay in the voids because they are sealed and have no grip.

Hence...........you dont seal unfilled travertine before you grout


tiler

[Sully]

So is my floor a opus romano?

Don't know about the floor but that new aviator thing is a striking resemblence Branty and it has made me laugh . Can you find one for me??

[bigandy]

here's one i did earlier[IMG]file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/Andy/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot-3.jpg[/IMG]
2005_0303rivi0002.jpg

if i works i hate computers

[whitebeam]

Nice one mate

[Branty]

Don't know about the floor but that new aviator thing is a striking resemblence Branty and it has made me laugh . Can you find one for me??

You mean avitar?

[Dave]

You mean avitar?

NO! He means avatar..

[TilingLogistics]

NO! He means avatar..

That was quicker than me Dave

Kev

[Branty]

That was quicker than me Dave

Kev

By 8 hours.

[bluebhuoy]

Thanks for all the assistance and advice guys, at least I know where to start from now.

[sibs]

Fascinating posts from wetdec alberta stone and kev